Business Insurance, Translated Into Plain English
Insurance has a vocabulary problem. Here are the terms Florida business owners actually encounter, defined the way we'd explain them across a table.
Money Terms
- Premium - what you pay for the policy, usually annually or monthly
- Deductible - what you pay out of pocket on a claim before coverage kicks in
- Limit - the maximum the policy will pay; often written as per-occurrence / aggregate (e.g., $1M/$2M)
- Coinsurance (property) - a clause requiring you to insure property to a stated percentage of its value, or claims get reduced proportionally
- Experience mod - a multiplier on workers' comp premium reflecting your claims history versus similar businesses; 1.0 is average
Coverage Terms
- Occurrence policy - covers incidents that happen during the policy period, whenever the claim is filed
- Claims-made policy - covers claims made during the policy period; common for E&O and cyber, which makes retroactive dates and tail coverage critical when switching
- Endorsement - an amendment that adds, removes, or modifies coverage
- Exclusion - what the policy specifically does not cover; where most claim surprises live
- Named-storm / hurricane deductible - a separate, often percentage-based deductible for named storms; a defining feature of Florida property policies
- Business interruption - replaces lost income and continuing expenses while a covered loss shuts you down
Paperwork Terms
- Certificate of insurance (COI) - the one-page proof of coverage landlords, GCs, and clients request
- Additional insured - a party (landlord, client) added to your policy for protection arising from your work; contracts request this constantly
- Waiver of subrogation - your carrier agrees not to pursue the other contract party after paying a claim; another frequent contract requirement
- Class code - the classification describing a type of work for workers' comp rating; wrong codes are a leading cause of overpayment
- Binder - temporary proof coverage is in force while final documents are issued
Last reviewed: 2026-08-01. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Verify current requirements with official sources or ask us - the review is free.
FAQs
What's the difference between additional insured and a certificate holder?
A certificate holder simply receives proof your coverage exists. An additional insured actually gets protection under your policy for liability arising from your work - a much bigger commitment that contracts frequently require.
Why do renewal quotes vary so much between carriers?
Each carrier has an 'appetite' - classes of business it wants and prices aggressively, and classes it doesn't. Matching your business to carriers with appetite for it is the core of what an independent agency does.
Prefer a translator for your actual policy?
Bring us your current policies and we'll do the comparison work - at no cost.